Hairstyling has become one of the most important things when it comes to beauty – particularly for ladies. You will realize that most women love to do different experiments by making unique hairstyles daily.
How to Protect Your Hair from Heat Damage
There are many options that you can consider when styling your hair. Heat styling is one of the options used by most women.
From straightening to adding wave and body, hot tools have proved to be very effective in creating gorgeous hairstyles.
However, heat styling options such as blow-drying, flat ironing, curling can wreak havoc on your hair.
It is therefore important that you take some steps to mitigate this problem. The following are 10 steps on how to protect your hair from heat damage:
Choose A High-Quality Straightening Or Curling Iron
The material that your iron is made of can have a significant effect on your hair. If you go to the market, you will find different types of irons. Some of them are cheap while others are quite expensive.
Cheap irons are usually made of metals that normally fail to heat evenly. Such irons can burn your hair and thereby damage it.
To mitigate this problem, you ought to invest in a high-quality straightening or curling iron. Ideally, it should be made from one of either ceramic, titanium or tourmaline.
Buy The Right Size Iron For Your Hair
It is worth noting that a 1 inch (2.5cm) iron is the most versatile option choice for hair of medium length and thickness.
In this case, if your hair is relatively short, you should choose a smaller iron. Those with thick or long hair can choose a larger iron.
Doing this will help speed up the time it takes to straighten your hair. If you want to achieve ringlet curls, you should purpose to use a smaller curling iron.
However, to achieve loose waves, you can consider using a larger curling iron.
Use a Heat Protectant Before Using Heat Tools
This might seem obvious to many people but you should always use a heat protectant when styling your hair with a hot tool.
This can be likened to using sunscreen before you head out of your door. These products can help protect your hair and keep healthy for longer.
Ideally, you should buy a heat protectant that contains humectants such as panthenol and propylene glycol.
It should also contain silicones such as dimethicone and amodimethicone. You can trust that these ingredients will lock in moisture and even insulate your hair from heat.
If you have fine or thin hair, you should choose a heat protectant spray. However, if you have thick or coarse hair, you should choose a heat protectant oil or cream.
Blow Dry Your Hair Properly
Here, you should set your blow dryer to its lowest setting. Your hair should remain completely dry before straightening or curling it.
If you have thick hair, you should divide it into sections and further divide your hair. Blow drying your hair will help to straighten it.
It will also help to prevent knotting and tangling of the hair ends which leads to hair breakage.
You should remember to attach a nozzle to your blow dryer to prevent overheating your hair.
Once this is done, you can then point the nozzle downwards and about 15 to 25 cm away from your hair. You should do this in sections until your hair is fully dried.
Regulate The Temperature Based On The Thickness Of Your Hair
It is possible to reduce the chances of damaging your hair by using the lowest setting that works for your hair.
An iron with digital temperature control can help you a great deal. It is better than the one that has just the low, medium and high settings.
The ideal temperature for most hair types ranges from 79 to 204 degrees Celsius. In this case, you can start at 79°C and gradually increase the temperature if your hair is not straightening or curling well.
For instance, if you have thick hair and you are using a low setting, you need to go over your hair several times to get the desired results.
Curling your hair at a lower temperature than make you take long before getting the right curl that you want.
You should avoid setting your iron higher than 204 °C. Larger irons usually have temperature controls. They are therefore ideal to buy for your hair.
Heat Your Hair In Small Sections
You should curl or straighten your hair a little bit at a time. This can greatly help to minimize damage.
You can even use small sections that allow you to maintain heat content for shorter intervals.
As you do this you should remember the general guideline that states that you should not leave your heat tool against your hair for more than 3-5 seconds.
You should keep using a hot tool repeatedly over the same section of your hair.
It might seem as if you are reinforcing the style or direction of the hair, you might be damaging it. If your hot tool is on the correct temperature setting, one pass is enough to curl your hair more effectively.
Take Breaks
Some people like styling their hair thrice in a week. This might seem to be a good idea but it can be detrimental to your hair. Your hair might suffer from heat damage in the long run.
It is therefore advisable that you take breaks and curl your hair once in a while. Taking time away from the blow dryer can make your hair remain in good condition for longer.
If you have used heat 1-2 times during the week, you can find alternatives for the rest of the week to minimize these damages. Rollers can help you achieve this goal.
Deep Condition Your Hair Once In A Week
Did you know that heat styling normally pulls moisture out of your hair? Such dryness can lead to heat damage.
To mitigate this problem, you should consider using a deep conditioner once a week. You should therefore wash your hair normally and deep-condition it.
Here, you can apply a traditional deep conditioner after you shampoo it. You should let it remain like for about 30 minutes and then rinse with cool water.
It is important to check the instructions of the manufacturer as some products should be left on for more than 10 hours.
If you notice that your hair is prone to split ends or breakage, you can choose to buy a leave-in conditioner. More importantly, you should check whether you should apply the shampoo on wet or dry hair.
Know Your Hair
Everyone’s hair is very different. It is therefore important that you know your hair and its heat tolerance.
You will realize that damaged hair is usually more susceptible to heat damage. Doing some hair assessment can help you know whether you should introduce heat to your regimen or not.
The softness of your hair can help you know whether to use heat to curl it or not. If you have soft hair, you should not use excess heat to curl your hair.
This is because finer hair textures can easily be damaged by heat. You should also check the elasticity of your hair before introducing heat to it. Doing this prevents heat damage.
Let A Professional Do It
Many are the times when you think that you will save money if you curl your hair on your own.
You might be surprised to note that your hair is damaged due to excess heat. Most people are victims of such circumstances.
To mitigate this problem, you should let a professional curl your hair. You will realize that professionals are usually well-trained on how to curl different types of hair.
Also, he or she knows how to use different types of iron to straighten different types of hair.
If you do not know any hairstylist that can curl your hair, you can ask for referrals from your friends and relatives. This can help you get the best stylist who will curl your hair well.
You should not be in a rush to look for this professional. Take your time and even ask for testimonials to determine her competence. You can even check if this professional is licensed to operate.
In addition, you should check customer reviews before hiring this expert. This will enable you to get the value for your money. More importantly, this will help prevent heat damage.
We all value our hair. It should remain straight and in good condition. Remember that your hair is the first thing that most people see whenever they approach you.
If it looks bad, they might have a bad impression of you. To mitigate this problem, you should consider the above mentioned ideas.
Sometimes, it pays to hire an expert for this undertaking. Your hair will be curled professionally and it will not get damaged.
Consider these steps today on how to protect your hair from heat damage and you will not be disappointed.
Don’t miss our guide to how often you can bleach your hair without causing too much damage.